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Surface Protein CD248 May Be Potential Therapeutic Target for PAH, Preclinical Study Suggests

Suppressing CD248, a cell surface protein, reduced pulmonary vascular remodeling — the key structural alteration in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) — in a rat model of the disease. CD248 was found to promote PAH-associated abnormal growth and migration of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs), the cells that line the…

FDA Approves Clinical Trial of TIVUS System in PAH

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted SoniVie permission to begin a pivotal clinical trial of its Therapeutic Intra-Vascular Ultrasound (TIVUS) System in people with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). This “study will provide important information on the safety and efficacy of the TIVUS System in…

Case Study Links Long-term Use of Antipsychotics to CTEPH

For the first time, the long-term use of antipsychotic medications has been linked to the development of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH), a case study reports.  The authors recommend that CTEPH should be considered in patients who receive antipsychotics and also have symptoms associated…

FDA Asked to Approve Intravenous Uptravi as Option When Tablets Won’t Do

Janssen Pharmaceutical has asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve the use of intravenous Uptravi (selexipag) by pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients unable for a given time to use Uptravi as a prescribed oral treatment. The intravenous, or IV (into-the-vein), formulation is meant to prevent treatment interruptions…

Rare Variants of ABCC8 Gene Identified in Spanish PAH Patients

Rare variants of the ABCC8 gene were found among pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients in Spain, a study reports. The variants, or mutations, are predicted to alter the SUR1 protein that the ABCC8 gene provides instructions to make, but exactly how these variants might affect PAH remains unknown.